Mounting bracket for photographic flashguns

ABSTRACT

A bracket for mounting a photographic flashgun on a camera is comprised of complementary front and back slidably interfitted members held together in assembled relation and clamped in place on the camera body by a fastening means.

United States Patent Blnunt [4 1 Jan. 18, 1972 [54] MOUNTING BRACKET FORPrimary ExaminerRichard C. Queisser PHOTOGRAPHIC FLASH AssistantExamineF-Ellis J. Koch N Attorney-James J. Lazna, Henry P. Truesdell,Frank L. Neu- Inventor: Rkhfld mount, South uC id, hio hauser, Oscar B.Waddell and Joseph B. Forman [73] Assignee: General Electric Company '7V 7 1 V 7 r I 1 H [22] Filed: Dec. 8, 1969 21 A I. No.: 882 961 l 1 P 57ABSTRACT 52 us. Cl ..24o/s2.1, 95/11 A bracket for mounting aPhotographic flashsun on a camera [51] Int. Cl. ..F21v 21/08, E016 5/00is comprised of mphmmry fmm and Wk sidably 581 Field of Search ..240/52.1, 52, 73; 95/11 fined members held ether in assemb'ed and clamped inplace on the camera body by a fastening means. [56] CM 10 c a nfll vinfisvrs UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,188 12/1903 sonsthahen ..240/52.l X

2,719,469 10/1955 Sanford ..240/52 MOUNTING BRACKET FOR PHOTOGRAPHICFLASHGUNS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates to a mounting bracket adapted to be clamped to thebody of a camera'for releasably mounting a photographic flashgunthereon.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional-type photographic flashgunsin general use at present are commonly provided with a mounting footwhich is adapted to be slip-fitted onto a bracket or accessory shoecarried on the body portion of the camera to thereby releasably mountthe flashgun in operative flashing position on the camera. The mountingbrackets or shoes heretofore employed for this purpose have generallybeen in' the form of a single integrated unit either permanently builtinto the camera casing, or removably fastenable in place thereon as, forinstance, by means of fastening screws, or slidably mountable on aportion of the camera such as, for example, the conventional filmrewindknob. The prior removably fastenable flashgun mounting brackets orshoes, however, have necessitated the provision of specially constructedmeans on the camera to enable the mounting of the brackets thereon.Accordingly, such priortype flashgun mounting brackets or accessoryshoes generally have not been mountable on those cameras which are notso provided with such specially constructed means for enabling themounting of the brackets or shoes thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention, therefore, toprovide a universal-type flashgun mounting bracket .or accessory shoefor fastening directly to the casing portion of a camera.

Another object of the invention is to provide a universaltype flashgunmounting bracket or accessory shoe which can be fastened directly to thecasing portion of a camera and which will exert a sufficient frictionalgrip on a flashgun mounted thereon to firmly support the flashgun inproper flashing position on the camera.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a universal-typeflashgun mounting bracket or accessory shoe which can be easily andfirmly fastened in place on the casing'portion of a camera in a positionwhich will assure that the reflector axis of a flashgun mounted on thebracket will be aligned substantially parallel'to the axis of the cameralens.

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, aflashgun mounting bracket is formed of two complementary sheet metalmembers which slidably interfit with one another so as to be clampablein place on the body of a camera by suitable fastening means such as afastening screw. The slidably interfitted members are formed to providea guideway to enable the slip-fitting onto the bracket of aconventionaltype flashgun mounting foot to thereby mount the flashguninplace on the camera, and they are further formed to provide a flatcamming surface adapted to engage with the customary spring-loadedplunger on the bottom face of themounting foot to thereby frictionallygrip and hold the flashgun firmly in place on the mounting bracketagainst accidental withdrawal therefrom.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description of a species'thereof and from theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket according to theinvention shown attached in place on a camera and showing a flashgunmounted in place on the bracket;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a casing portion of a camerasuitably formed for attachment thereto of the mounting bracketcomprising the invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the flashgun mounting bracket;

FIG. 4 is .a side elevation of the flashgun mounting bracket shownattached in place on the casing portion of a camera;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the flashgun mounting bracket shownpartly broken away in section and showing mounted thereon a portion ofthe mounting foot of a flashgun; and

'FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the flashgun mounting bracket as seenfrom the front thereof and shown partly broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED-EMBODIMENT The flashgun mounting bracket ofthe present invention is of a universal type adapted to be firmly butreleasably mountable on cameras having a bandlike casing portion andincorporating flash synchronizing means, the mounting bracket enabling aflashgun to be firmly mounted on-the camera, or to be detachedtherefrom, with the utmost ease and rapidity.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mounting bracket 1 according to the invention isthere shown attached in place on a bandlike casing portion 2 on the body3 of a camera 4, with a flashgun 5 provided with a conventional footportion 6 shown mounted in I place on the mounting bracket, the footportion 6 of the flashgun being slip-iitted onto the mounting bracket ina manner similar to that in which such flashguns have been mounted onprevious conventional-type mounting brackets or accessory shoes oncameras. As shown more "particularly in FIGS. I and 5, suchconventional-type flashgun foot portions 6 are generally in the form ofa block-shaped housing member 7 projecting from the bottom of .theflashgun casing 8 and having a pair of opposed guide grooves 9 formed inits opposite side faces 10 and extending parallel to and closelyadjacent the flat bottom face 11 of the foot portion 6. Flat springfingers or lead springs 12 are mountedlin the housing member 7 withinthe innermost regions of the guide grooves 9 to extend therealong. Inaddition, a spring-loaded plunger 13 protrudes from the bottom face 11of the housing member 7 of the foot portion6.

The flashgun mounting "bracket 1 according to the invention is comprisedoftwo complementary sheet metal members, i.e., a front member 14 and aback member 15, which may be made of any suitable metal sheet materialsuch as, for example, :sheet steel of around three sixty-fourths inchthickness and preferably plated with a suitable nonoxidizing materialsuch as cadmium, nickel or chromium, and which slidably interfit withone another to enable them to be clamped firmly against the oppositeside edges '16 and 17 of the bandlike casing portion 2 of the camera 4for the purpose of attaching it thereto, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Thefront member 14 is formed of a strip of suchsheet metal bent togenerally channel shape to form a web portion 18 with front and rearside flanges 19 and 20, respectively, extending therefrom. The webportion 18 is formed with a transverse guide slot 21 (FIG. 3) extendingcompletely thereacross, with a widened extension 22 at its rear endextending a short distance into the rear side flange 20 of the frontmember 14, to'form a guideway open at its rear .end to permit slidinginsertion thereinto of the lowermost extremity of the .foot portion 6 ofthe flashgun 5, with the side edges 23 of the portion of the guideway inthe web 18 of the front member 14 entered'into the guide grooves 9 inthe foot portion 6 of the flashgun and engaging with the spring fingers12 therein so as to deflect them. The resulting spring pressure of thedeflected spring fingers 12 against the side edges 23 of the guideway 21in the front member 14 thus serves to provide a friction grip of thefoot portion 6 onto the front member 14 such as tends to hold theflashgun in place on the front member against accidental sliding removaltherefrom. The front side flange 19 of the front member 14 is providedat its free end with a forwardly offset portion 24 formed by anoutwardly bent wing portion 25 on the flange l9 and terminating in ashort 'inturned tongue or lip portion 26 adapted for insertion into anotch opening 27 in the underside of the bandlike casing 2 of the camerabody 3, at the front side edge 16 of the casing, so as to catch aroundthe front side edge of the casing and thus lock the front member 14 inplace against tilting movement thereon when it is clamped, together withthe back member 15, in position on the casing 2. As shown in FIG. 4, theoutwardly bent wing portion 25 of the front member 14 rests flat againstthe outer side of the casing 2 on the camera body 3 in the mountedposition of the mounting bracket 1 thereon, thereby properly positioningthe bracket in place thereon.

The front member 14 is formed with an inturned stop lug or tongueportion 28 which is struck" from that part of the web portion 18 andfront side flange 19 of the front member which is cut out to form theguide slot 21 therein. The stop lug 28 is bent to extend inwardly fromthe front side flange 19 of the front member 14 in a direction parallelto the web portion 18 thereof, with its outwardly facing flat surface 29spaced a predetermined distance from the inner side 30 of the webportion 18 of the front member 14 to thereby afford a stop shoulder forengaging with a portion of the rear member to properly position itrelative to the front member 14 in the assembled position of thesemembers, as described hereinafter. As will be apparent from the drawing,the stop lug or tongue portion 28 extends from the front side flange 19of the front member 14 longitudinally of and more or less centrallyaligned with the guide slot 21 therein.

The rear member 15 of the mounting bracket 1 is formed of a strip ofsheet metal, such as that employed for the front member 14, which isbent to generally L-shape to form a camming leg portion 31 and aclamping leg portion 32. The camming leg portion 31 is of a width suchas to have a close tolerance sliding fit within the widened extension 22of the guide slot 21 in the front member 14 so as to be slidablyinsertable thereinto and guided therein. At its free end, the cammingleg portion 31 of the back member 15 is formed with a pair of spacedinturned guide lugs 33 extending inwardly and more or lessperpendicularly therefrom. The spaced guide lugs 33 together provide aguide slot 34 therebetween for slidably receiving the stop lug or tongueportion 28 on the front member 14 with a close tolerance sliding fit soas to guide the free end of the camming leg portion 31 of the backmember 15 and thus align the two members 14 and 15 in proper positionfor clamping to the casing 2 of the camera body3. The guide lugs 33preferably are of a length slightly greater than the length (or height)of the widened guide slot portion 22 in the rear side flange of the backmember 15 so as to catch behind the rear side flange 20 to prevent theslidably interfitted members 14 and 15 from being freely separable fromone another by relative sliding movement in a direction lengthwise ofthe guideway 21 in the front member 14. Thus, the slidably interfittedmembers 14 and 15 are separable from one another, and can be slidablyinterfitted together, only by tilting or angling them relative to oneanother.

The free end of the clamping leg portion 32 of the back member 15 isformed with an inturned tongue or lip portion 35 corresponding to andlocated in opposed relation to the inturned tongue or lip portion 26 onthe front member 14, in the assembled position of the two members 14 and15. The inturned tongue 35 is adapted for insertion into a notch opening36 (FIG. 4) formed in the underside of the bandlike casing 2 of thecamera at the rear side edge 17 thereof and corresponding to and alignedwith the notch opening 27 at the front side edge' 16 of the casing 2, soas to catch around the rear side edge 17 of the casing 2 to lock theback member 15in place against tilting movement thereon when it isclamped, together with the front member 14, in position on the casing 2.

To hold the two members 14 and 15 together in assembled position andclamp them firmly against the opposite side edges 16 and 17 of thecasing 2 on the camera so as to secure the mounting bracket 1 in placethereon, suitable fastening means are employed which conveniently maytake the form of an adjustment or clamping screw 37 loosely passingthrough an aperture 38 (FIG. 3) in the clamping leg portion 32 of theback member 15 and having screw-threaded engagement within a threadedaperture 39 in the rear side flange 20 of the front member 14. When thefastening screw 37 is turned so as to screw it into the screw-threadedopening 39 in the front member 14, the head 40 of the fastening screwengages the clamping leg 32 of the back member 15 and forces itforwardly toward the rear side flange 20 of the front member 14, therebyslidably moving the two members 14 and 15 toward one another until theyengage with and become tightly clamped against the opposite side edges16, 17 of the bandlike casing 2 on the camera body 3, thus securelyfastening the mounting bracket 1 in place on the camera 4.

In the slidably interfitted and assembled position of the two bracketmembers 14 and 15, the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15engages and rests at its free end on the outwardly or upwardly facingside 29. of the stop lug or tongue portion 28 on the front member, andat its other end on the end 42 (FIG. 3) of the widened guide slotportion 22 in the rear side flange 20 of the front member, to therebysupport and locate the back member 15 in proper squared'positionrelative to the front member 14, as shown in FIG. 4, with its cammingleg portion 31 disposed parallel to the web portion 18 of the frontmember. To this end, the outwardly or upwardly facing side 29 of thestop lug or tongue portion 28 on the front member, and the end 42 of thewidened guide slot portion 22 therein, are disposed parallel to oneanother and to the inner side 30 of the web portion 18 of the frontmember 14. in addition, these surfaces 29 and 42 are spaced apredetermined distance from the inner side 30 of the web portion 18 suchas to likewise position the outwardly or upwardly facing side 43 of thecamming leg portion 31 of the back member 15, when resting against thesesurfaces 29 and 42 in the assembled position of the two bracket members14 and 15, at a predetermined distance, from the inner side 30 of thoseportions of the web portion 18 at each side of the guideway 21 whichoverlie the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15, sufficient tofreely accommodate in the space therebetween the entire thickness of thelip portions 44 (FIG. 5) formed on the foot portion 6 of the flashguncasing by the guide slots 9 therein, but less than the total of thethickness of such lip portions 44 plus the distance the spring-loadedplunger 13 projects, when in its fully extended or undeflected position,from the bottom face 11 of the foot portion 6 on the flashgun casing 8.This particular predetermined spacing of the outer or upwardly facingside 43 of the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15 from theinner or underside 30 of the web portion 18 of the front member 14 thuspermits the sliding insertion therebetween of the lip portions 44 of theflashgun foot portion 6 when the latter is slidably inserted into theguideway 21 of the assembled mounting bracket 1, as shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, it also causes the spring-loaded plunger 13 projecting fromthe bottom face 11 of the foot portion 6 to engage with and becomedepressed by the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15 onslidable insertion of the foot member into the guideway 21 in the frontmember 14. This depression of the spring-loaded plunger 13 then causesthe lip portions 44 on the foot portion 6 to be spring-pressed firmlyagainst the inner side 30 of the overlying portions of the web 18 of thefront member 14, thereby producing a frictional grip therebetweenserving to hold the foot portion 6 firmly in position on the mountingbracket 1 and thus supporting the associated flashgun securely in placeon the camera 4. To prevent wobbling of the flashgun 5 on the bracket 1such as might otherwise result from .any slight tolerance existingbetween the thickness of the edge portions 23 of the guideway 21 in thefront member 14 and the width of the guide grooves 9 in the flashgunfoot portion 6, the web portion 18 of the front member 14 is formed witha pair of small outward protuberances or hump-shaped offsets 46 in theedge portions 23 of the guideway 21 located near the forward end of thelatter approximately opposite one another and of a height or outwardprojection such as to snugly fit within the guide grooves 9.

in assembling the two complementary members 14 and 15 together to formthe mounting bracket 1, the free end of the camming leg 31 of the backmember 15 is first slidably inserted into the widened guide slot portion22 in the front member 14, the two members l4, l5 initially being tiltedat a slight angle to one another to permit the entry of the inturnedguide lugs 33 on the back member into the widened guide slot portion 22of the front member. The two members 14, 15 are then slidably movedtoward one another a sufficient distance to permit the stop lug or guidetongue 28 on the front member 14 to be inserted into the guide slot 34in the back member 15 formed by the inturned guide lugs 33 thereon.During this sliding assembly movement of the two members 14, 15, theclose tolerance sliding fits of the camming leg portion 31 within thewidened extension 22 of the guideway 21 in the front member, and of thestop lug 28 on the front member 14 within the guide slot 34 in the backmember 15, serves to respectively align the two members 14, 15 and theirfastening screw apertures 38, 39 laterally relative to one another.Resting engagement of the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15on the outward or upper side 29 of the stop lug 28 on the front member14, andon the end 42 of the widened guide slot portion 22 in the backside flange of the front member, serves to align the two members 14, 15in the transverse plane of the channel-shaped front member 14 so thatthe fastening screw apertures 38 and 39 are aligned in the saidtransverse plane and the camming leg portion 31 of the back member 15extends parallel to the web portion 18 of the front member 14. With thetwo members 14, 15 thus slidably interfitted together in assembledposition, the tapered end of the fastening screw 37 is then insertedthrough the opening 38 in the back member and screwed into the alignedscrewthreaded opening 39 in the front member 14 to thereby connect andhold the two members 14, 15 together in slidably interfitted relationwith one another.

To mount the bracket 1 in place on the camera 4, it is placed over andagainst the bandlike casing 2 of the camera 4 with the outwardly bentwing portion of the front member 14 resting flat against the casing 2and with the inturned tongue 35 on the back member 15 entered in thepositioning notch 36 in the back edge 17 of the casing 2. The adjustablefastening screw 37 is then turned to tighten it an and thereby slidablyclose the two bracket members 14, 15 together until the inturned tongue26 on the front member 14 catches in the positioning notch 27 in thefront edge 16 of the casing 2 and the offset free end 24 of the frontside flange 19 of the front member 14 and the clamping leg portion 32 ofthe back member 15 engage with and become tightly clamped against theedges 16 and 17 ofthe casing 2.

Since the flat upper surface 45 (H6. 4) of the bandlike casing 2 on thebody 3 of the camera 4 is disposed approximately parallel to the axis ofthe camera lens (not shown), and the side edges 16, 17 of the casing aredisposed in planes normal to the lens axis, and further since the guideslots 9 in the foot portion 6 of conventional-type flashguns 5 extendapproximately parallel to the reflector axis thereof, the mounting ofthe bracket 1 on the camera casing 2 with the lateral bent wing portion25 of its front member 14 resting flat against the camera casing 2, asshown in FIG. 4, therefore assures that the web portion 18 of themounted bracket 1 will be disposed approximately parallel to the flatupper surface 45 of the camera casing 2 so that the flashgun 5accordingly will be mounted, in turn, on the camera 4 with its reflectoraxis extending approximately parallel to the axis of the camera lens.Moreover, because of its two-part construction comprised of the twocomplementary members 14 and 15 slidably adjustable relative to oneanother, the mounting bracket 1 according to the invention therefore isof adjustable character such as adapts it for universal application tomany different types of cameras having different width casings 2.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A bracket for releasably mounting a flashgun by a depending footportion thereof on a bandlike casing portion of a camera, said bracketcomprising complementary front and back sheet metal members, said frontmember comprising a channel-shaped portion provided with a transverseguide slot in its web portion having a widened extension at one endlocated in the adjacent rear side flange of said from member, said guideslot forming a guideway open at the said one end for slidably receiving,through the said open end and widened slot extension, the said footportion of the flashgun with the side edges of the guideway in said webportion received within cooperating guide grooves in'the opposite sidefaces of said foot portion to thereby support the latter in place onsaid front member, said back member having at least a portion thereofdisposed alongside and spaced outwardly from the said rear side flangeof said front member, one of said members having a flat camming surfaceportion extending along the said guideway in the front member and facingtoward and disposed parallel to but spaced inwardly from the inner sideof the web portion of said front member a predetermined distance toengage with and depress a spring-loaded plunger mounted on andprojecting from the bottom face of said foot portion on slidinginsertion movement of said foot portion into the said guideway of saidfront member, and fastening means interconnecting said members foradjustment movement of said members relative to one another to clamp afree end of said back member and the free end of the front side flangeof said front member against the opposite side edges of said cameracasing so as to firmly secure the bracket in place thereon, said backmember and the free end of the front side flange of said front memberbeing formed with opposed inturned lip portions adapted to catch aroundthe opposite side edges of the said bandlike casing of the camera, onclamping of the said members thereagainst by the said fastening means,to thereby lock the bracket securely in place against tilting movementon said casing.

2. A bracket as specified in claim 1 wherein the said fastening meanscomprises an adjustment screw passing through an aperture in the saidback member and screw threaded into the rear side flange of said frontmember.

3. A bracket as specified in claim 1 wherein the said free end of thefront side flange of said front member is offset outwardly thereof.

4. A bracket for releasably mounting a flashgun by a depending footportion thereon a bandlike casing portion of a camera, said bracketcomprising complementary front and back sheet metal members slidablyinterfitting with one another, said front member comprising achannel-shaped portion provided with a transverse guide slot in its webportion having a widened extension at one end located in the adjacentrear side flange of said front member, said guide slot forming aguideway open at the said one end for slidably receiving, through thesaid open end and widened slot extension, the said foot portion of theflashgun with the side edges of the guideway in said web portionreceived within cooperating guide grooves in the opposite side faces ofsaid foot portion to thereby support the.latter in place on said frontmember, said back member being L-shaped with. one of its leg portionsslidably insertable through the said widened slot extension in the saidrear side flange of said front member and the other one of its legportions disposed alongside and outwardly of the said rear side flange,one of said members having a flat camming surface portion extendingalong the said guideway in the front member and facing toward anddisposed parallel to but spaced inwardly from the inner side of the webportion of said front member a predetermined distance to engage with anddepress a spring-loaded plunger mounted on and projecting from thebottom face of said foot portion on sliding insertion movement of saidfoot portion into the said guideway of said front member, and fasteningmeans interconnecting said members for slidable adjustment movement ofsaid back member relative to said front member within the said widenedslot extension thereof to clamp the free end of the front side flange ofthe front member and the free end of the said other leg portion of theback member against the opposite side edges of said camera casing so asto firmly secure the bracket in place thereon, the free end of the frontside flange of said front member and the free end of the said other legportion of the back member being formed with opposed intumed lipportions adapted to catch around the opposite side edges of the saidbandlike casing of the camera, on clamping of the said membersthereagainst by the said fastening means, to thereby lock the bracketsecurely in place against tilting movement on said casing.

5. A bracket as specified in claim 4 wherein the said fastening meanscomprises an adjustment screw passing through an aperture in the saidother leg portion of the back member and screw threaded into the rearside flange of said front member.

6. A bracket as specified in claim 4 wherein the said flat cammingsurface portion is constituted by that surface of the said one legportion of said back member that faces the web portion of the frontmember, said one leg portion of the back member abutting at its free endagainst a stop shoulder on the front side flange of said front memberand at its other end against the end of the said widened slot extensionin the rear side flange of said front member to'thereby locate the saidcamming surface portion at the said predetermined distance from andparallel to the inner side of the web portion of said front member.

7. A bracket for releasably mounting a flashgun by a depending footportion thereof on a bandlike casing portion of a camera, said bracketcomprising complementary front and back sheet metal members slidablyinterfitting with one another, said front member comprising achannel-shaped portion provided with a transverse guide slot in its webportion having a widened extension at one end located in the adjacentrear side flange of said front member, said guide slot forming aguideway open at the said one end for slidably receiving, through thesaid open end and widened slot extension, the said foot portion of theflashgun with the side edges of the guideway in said web portionreceived within cooperating guide grooves in the opposite side faces ofsaid foot portion to thereby support the latter in place on said frontmember, said from member having a stop lug portion extending inwardlyfrom its front side flange approximately parallel to but spaced inwardlyfrom the inner side of its web portion, said back member being L-shapedwith a camming leg portion insertable through and having a sliding fitwithin the said widened slot extension in the said rear side flange ofsaid front member and a clamping leg portion disposed alongside andoutwardly of the said rear side flange, the same camming leg portion ofsaid back member having a flat camming surface portion extending alongthe said guideway in the front member and facing toward the inner sideof the web portion of said front member, said camming leg portionabutting at its free end against the said stop lug portion of said frontmember and at its other end against the end of the said widened slotextension in the rear side flange of said front member to thereby locatethe said camming surface portion a predetermined distance inwardly fromand parallel to the inner side of the web portion of said front memberto engage with and depress a spring-loaded plunger mounted on andprojecting from the bottom face of said foot portion on slidinginsertion movement of said foot portion into the said guideway of saidfront member, and fastening means interconnecting said members forslidable adjustment movement of said back member relative to said frontmember within the said widened slot extension thereof to clamp the freeend of the front side flange of the front member and the free end of thesaid clamping leg portion of the back member against the opposite sideedges of said camera casing so as to firmly secure the bracket in placethereon, the free end of the front side flange of said from member andthe free end of the said clamping leg portion of the back member beingformed with opposed intumed lip portions adapted to catch around theopposite side edges of the said bandlike casing of the camera, onclamping of the said members there against by the said fastening means,to thereby lock the bracket securely in place against tilting movementon said casing.

8. A bracket as specified in claim 7 wherein the said stop lug on thefrom member and the said camming leg portion of the back member areprovided with tongue an groove sliding interfit means thereon to guidethe free end of the said camming leg of the back member during thesliding movement of said camming leg within the said widened slotextension of the front member.

9. A bracket as specified in claim 8 wherein the said tongue and groovesliding interfit means comprises a guideway on the free end of the saidcamming leg portion of the back member into which the said stop lugextends and is slidable to thereby guide the free end of the saidcamming leg portion.

10. A bracket as specified in claim 9 wherein the said fastening meanscomprises an adjustment screw passing through an aperture in the saidclamping leg of the back member and screw threaded into the rear sideflange of said front member.

1. A bracket for releasably mounting a flashgun by a depending footportion thereof on a bandlike casing portion of a camera, said bracketcomprising complementary front and back sheet metal members, said frontmember comprising a channel-shaped portion provided with a transverseguide slot in its web portion having a widened extension at one endlocated in the adjacent rear side flange of said front member, saidguide slot forming a guideway open at the said one end for slidablyreceiving, through the said open end and widened slot extension, thesaid foot portion of the flashgun with the side edges of the guideway insaid web portion received within cooperating guide grooves in theopposite side faces of said foot portion to thereby support the latterin place on said front member, said back member having at least aportion thereof disposed alongside and spaced outwardly from the saidrear side flange of said front member, one of said members having a flatcamming surface portion extending along the said guideway in the frontmember and facing toward and disposed parallel to but spaced inwardlyfrom the inner side of the web portion of said front member apredetermined distance to engage with and depress a spring-loadedplunger mounted on and projecting from the bottom face of said footportion on sliding insertion movement of said foot portion into the saidguideway of said front member, and fastening means interconnecting saidmembers for adjustment movement of said members relative to one anotherto clamp a free end of said back member and the free end of the frontside flange of said front member against the opposite side edges of saidcamera casing so as to firmly secure the bracket in place thereon, saidback member and the free end of the front side flange of said frontmember being formed with opposed inturned lip portions adapted to catcharound the opposite side edges of the said bandlike casing of thecamera, on clamping of the said members thereagainst by the saidfastening means, to thereby lock the bracket securely in place againsttilting movement on said casing.
 2. A bracket as specified in claim 1wherein the said fastening means comprises an adjustment screw passingthrough an aperture in the said back member and screw threaded into therear side flange of said front member.
 3. A bracket as specified inclaim 1 wherein the said free end of the front side flange of said frontmember is offset outwardly thereof.
 4. A bracket for releasably mountinga flashgun by a depending foot portion thereon a bandlike casing portionof a camera, said bracket comprising complementary front and back sheetmetal members slidably interfitting with one another, said front membercomprising a channel-shaped portion provided with a transverse guideslot in its web portion having a widened extension at one end located inthe adjacent rear side flange of said front member, said guide slotforming a guideway open at the said one end for slidably receiving,through the said open end and widened slot extension, the said footportion of the flashgun with the side edges of the guideway in said webportion received within cooperating guide grooves in the opposite sidefaces of said foot portion to thereby support the latter in place onsaid front member, said back member being L-shaped with one of its legportions slidably insertable through the said widened slot extension inthe said rear side flange of said front member and the other one of itsleg portions disposed alongside and outwardly of the said rear sideflange, one of said members having a flat camming surface portionextending along the said guideway in the front member and facing towardand disposed parallel to but spaced inwardly from the inner side of theweb portion of said front member a predetermined distance to engage withand depress a spring-loaded plunger mounted on and projecting from thebottom face of said foot portion on sliding insertion movement of saidfoot portion into the said guideway of said front member, and fasteningmeans interconnecting said members for slidable adjustment movement ofsaid back member relative to said front member within the said widenedslot extension thereof to clamp the free end of the front side flange ofthe front member and the free end of the said other leg portion of theback member against the opposite side edges of said camera casing so asto firmly secure the bracket in place thereon, the free end of the frontside flange of said front member and the free end of the said other legportion of the back member being formed with opposed inturned lipportions adapted to catch around the opposite side edges of the saidbandlike casing of the camera, on clamping of the said membersthereagainst by the said fastening means, to thereby lock the bracketsecurely in place against tilting movement on said casing.
 5. A bracketas specified in claim 4 wherein the said fastening means comprises anadjustment screw passing through an aperture in the said other legportion of the back member and screw threaded into the rear side flangeof said front member.
 6. A bracket as specified in claim 4 wherein thesaid flat camming surface portion is constituted by that surface of thesaid one leg portion of said back member that faces the web portion ofthe front member, said one leg portion of the back member abutting atits free end against a stop shoulder on the front side flange of saidfront member and at its other end against the end of the said widenedslot extension in the rear side flange of said front member to therebylocate the said camming surface portion at the said predetermineddistance from and parallel to the inner side of the web portion of saidfront member.
 7. A bracket for releasably mounting a flashgun by adepending foot portion thereof on a bandlike casing portion of a camera,said bracket comprising complementary front and back sheet metal membersslidably interfitting with one another, said front member comprising achannel-shaped portion provided with a transverse guide slot in its webportion having a widened extension at one end located in the adjacentrear side flange of said front member, said guide slot forming aguideway open at the said one end for slidably receiving, through thesaid open end and widened slot extension, the said foot portion of theflashgun with the side edges of the guideway in said web portionreceived within cooperating guide grooves in the opposite side faces ofsaid foot portion to thereby support the latter in place on said frontmember, said front member having a stop lug portion extending inwardlyfrom its front siDe flange approximately parallel to but spaced inwardlyfrom the inner side of its web portion, said back member being L-shapedwith a camming leg portion insertable through and having a sliding fitwithin the said widened slot extension in the said rear side flange ofsaid front member and a clamping leg portion disposed alongside andoutwardly of the said rear side flange, the same camming leg portion ofsaid back member having a flat camming surface portion extending alongthe said guideway in the front member and facing toward the inner sideof the web portion of said front member, said camming leg portionabutting at its free end against the said stop lug portion of said frontmember and at its other end against the end of the said widened slotextension in the rear side flange of said front member to thereby locatethe said camming surface portion a predetermined distance inwardly fromand parallel to the inner side of the web portion of said front memberto engage with and depress a spring-loaded plunger mounted on andprojecting from the bottom face of said foot portion on slidinginsertion movement of said foot portion into the said guideway of saidfront member, and fastening means interconnecting said members forslidable adjustment movement of said back member relative to said frontmember within the said widened slot extension thereof to clamp the freeend of the front side flange of the front member and the free end of thesaid clamping leg portion of the back member against the opposite sideedges of said camera casing so as to firmly secure the bracket in placethereon, the free end of the front side flange of said front member andthe free end of the said clamping leg portion of the back member beingformed with opposed inturned lip portions adapted to catch around theopposite side edges of the said bandlike casing of the camera, onclamping of the said members there against by the said fastening means,to thereby lock the bracket securely in place against tilting movementon said casing.
 8. A bracket as specified in claim 7 wherein the saidstop lug on the front member and the said camming leg portion of theback member are provided with tongue and groove sliding interfit meansthereon to guide the free end of the said camming leg of the back memberduring the sliding movement of said camming leg within the said widenedslot extension of the front member.
 9. A bracket as specified in claim 8wherein the said tongue and groove sliding interfit means comprises aguideway on the free end of the said camming leg portion of the backmember into which the said stop lug extends and is slidable to therebyguide the free end of the said camming leg portion.
 10. A bracket asspecified in claim 9 wherein the said fastening means comprises anadjustment screw passing through an aperture in the said clamping leg ofthe back member and screw threaded into the rear side flange of saidfront member.